Byrd, who was temporarily paralyzed after colliding with teammate Scott Mersereau on Nov. 29, 1992, was an honorary game captain and walked arm-in-arm with center Nick Mangold to midfield for the coin toss.

During halftime, the Jets officially retired Byrd's No. 90 and he became emotional as he spoke to the crowd.

"A man doesn't just become a man," said Byrd, who was joined by his wife and four children. "Men are built. I learned to be a man in Oklahoma and I grew to be a man in New York."

Unfortunately for the Jets, they couldn't blame this dud on the weather. The winds gusted to 17 miles per hour, but that was the extent of Mother Nature's impact. The worst weather will fill up most of this week, which is why coach Rex Ryan -- with the team heading into its bye week -- chose to give his players the first week off. Ryan initially wanted his players to return to the facility Tuesday and Wednesday, but he changed his mind in light of the forecast.

"I care about our players a great deal," Ryan said. "They need that time to be with their families and make sure everybody is out of harm's way. As much as I'd like to bring them in, that's not going to happen. I care about our players too much to see them go through that, so they will not be in."

It looked as though Reggie Bush said something to Ryan on the field. Did he?

Bush's smile hinted that words were exchanged, but the Dolphins running back chose to keep it a secret. "I probably shouldn't say," Bush said. "I've already been told to put it past us. We won the game."

When told last week that Ryan said he meant nothing by his "hot sauce" comment just days before Bush was injured in the teams' Week 3 game Sept. 23, the running back said he didn't buy it. Sunday, Ryan didn't offer any mea culpa. Asked if he thought the war of words backfired against his team, Ryan said: "I don't know what specifically motivated [the Dolphins] or whatever. Again, I'll stand by my comments."

As expected, the veteran Jets linebacker was inactive, which snapped his impressive streak of playing in 119 consecutive regular-season games. Rookie Demario Davis started in place of the injured Scott, who was out with a hyperextended right big toe. Davis made five tackles, including one for a loss. Davis also started last week's overtime loss to the Patriots as an outside linebacker in the Jets' nickel defense.

Scott's streak was the fifth longest among active NFL linebackers and eighth longest among active defensive players, according to the Jets.

The kick returner / running back made good on his promise for the second straight week, but he left the game after returning a kickoff 24 yards near the end of the first quarter. McKnight aggravated his left ankle sprain in last week's overtime loss in New England but had told reporters last week that he would face the Dolphins.